In a Puff of Smoke
by dreaming of rocketships
Summary: In 1981, the last of 26 children was kidnapped from the U.K. Where they went no one really knows although theories abound. Fast forward 10 years and meet Xenon Leilani, a budding mage in the Fairy Tail Guild. Like many in the guild, she has her share of sorrow but at least she has her family to get her through the tough times ahead. Rewrite of my deleted story The Disappeared.


_AN:_ So, I decided to rewrite The Disappeared and just move it along differently. New starting point, slightly different way of going about it. Not too much new in the idea though. I think I like starting here better anyway.

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Fairy Tail or Harry Potter but I love them both.

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><p><strong>In a Puff of Smoke<strong>

_Chapter One_

_Magic Is What You Make It_

Xenon Leilani was eleven when she finally understood what magic was. She had heard other wizards far wiser than her categorize it into Light and Dark, Good and Bad, Strong and Weak. Some had even gone as far as calling magic a tool; an inanimate object to be wielded by those who know how best to use it. Xenon knew the Council of Era subscribed to this last perspective but she understood it as something else. She knew that Magic is a living, breathing entity that grants special people the ability to harness her energy. As she stood listening to the passionate words of the guild master, she understood exactly what she wasn't.

She wasn't a tool or a weapon. She wasn't a waste of space or a little kid whose only use was to sound an alarm or put stones on top of one another. She wasn't a freak. She wasn't weak. She wasn't afraid. She wasn't alone. She wasn't useless. She wasn't another kid destined to become part of the shadows.

"When the spirit flow within us and the spirit flow in nature connect it will form an embodiment for the first time. You will need a strong mentality and lot of concentration for that. I mean, pouring your soul into whatever you do is magic…Do whatever you think is right. That is the way of Fairy Tail mages!"

She was a mage and a member of the Fairy Tail Guild.

It's strange how sometimes an answer could be staring at you right in the face and yet you can miss it completely. Xenon and her friends, or rather her makeshift family, joined the guild three months before Lucy Heartfilia joined and Master Makarov made his speech. In that time, she learned how to control her magic and made other friends in the guild. She'd learned to read, write, and do basic math. She contributed to her family's jewel pool so they could have a warm home and food. Right now she only did small jobs like finding lost pets and performing for some of the civilian kids in Magnolia Town.

Xenon enjoyed her new life with Fairy Tail but sometimes she found herself missing her old life. She missed the family she was forced to leave behind. On those lazy days when there was nothing to do and she was alone with her thoughts like today, she would go behind the guild hall which overlooked the ocean and watch the sunlight glittering off the waves. She imagined that somewhere over those crests, her family did the same. Millianna, with her cat ears twitching, would sit on the balcony outside her room as a gull cried out. Jellal would lean over the balustrade at the top of the Tower taking in his island domain. Others would be there as well, milling about the island.

Xenon pushed a stray lock of curly sable hair behind her ear without pulling her hazel eyes off of the rolling blue sea. The sound of footsteps alerted her to the presence of another person but she didn't look up. Below her, the waves crashed into the sea wall before dragging themselves back out.

"It's a nice day," the newcomer stated before settling next to her with his legs crossed. "Then again it's always nice here." Xenon nodded. "You've been practically all day; everything alright?"

"I've just been thinking about what Gramps said," Xenon replied finally looking up. Her big brother's spiky golden hair always looks red when the sun shines through it and his blue eyes are almost always alight with some form of mischief or merriment. Somewhere along the line he'd picked up the name Phoenix and it stuck especially since he couldn't remember much of his real name besides the presence of a 'P.' "I haven't connected to nature yet, but I think I understand a lot better now. Maybe soon…"

"You're doing great so far, Zee."

A smile spilled across Xenon's face at the comment. "You really think so?!"

Phoenix nodded with a wide grin, mentally congratulating himself on a job well done. "Definitely. You've been working hard, practicing all the time, and learning everything you can. It's already starting to show."

As Xenon smiled a flicker of light flashed over the simple metal necklace she now wore. It was payment she had received after completing her first job; finding a charm bracelet the owner had lost by the quay. The previous owner, the daughter of a wealthy merchant named Logan, had considered the necklace trash and given it to Xenon along with 100 jewels. Xenon had given the money to Grams, an elderly woman who had been with them in the Tower, but treasured the necklace. A month later, it had started to spark whenever the young girl was excited or simply happy. It sparked a lot and Phoenix was worried about her getting shocked but she didn't seem to notice.

"Oh! You got to go on the job with Rigel, Rhea, and Cass! How was it?!" Xenon asked leaning closer towards her brother with her hazel eyes wide. Electricity twisted over the necklace and yet the girl's smile didn't waver.

"It was pretty cool. The guy stealing the smaller dragons turned out to be an international trader. He caught them and sold them in Bora and from there they were shipped to other countries. I have no idea what they did with them but the guy left the impression that it was pretty nasty." A frown. "We stopped him for good though, so we don't have to worry about the baby dragons being hurt anymore."

"That's good. Those poor things…"

"Yup. The rent is paid this month though. First thing Rigel did before he gave us our share."

"Try not to spend it all in one place, 'k?" Xenon said with a smile and a tilt of her head. She looked back out to the ocean and then at her brother again giving him another small smile. "Sometimes I miss the others and I wonder if they're doing alright; but I figure since we're doing so well, they must be too." She stood up and leaned over to give her brother a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later, 'k? I have to go back and help Levy now."

"Later! Don't work too hard," Phoenix called after her as she ran off.

Xenon entered the haven that was the Fairy Tail Guild Hall, as always (especially now that Natsu was back) it was loud and boisterous. Xenon tended to avoid the main hall and retreat to the quieter parts of their hall, either the infirmary to help with tending to wounded guild members or to the library where she could help Levy with some of her research. Unlike Levy, Xenon couldn't store information. She didn't have archive magic; what she could do was help find books Levy would find useful and memorize some of the information herself. Already she knew fifty runes by heart and had managed to get them to work on objects. They were mostly protection runes but that worked well for her.

She dodged a table that went flying across the main hall and then ducked under Elfman who was knocked out of yet another fight. Really, when was he going to learn that fighting with one's fists was useless against these guys? They tended to fight unfairly. Did both Gray and Natsu have to punch him? At least she reached the library, sidled in and closed the door, dulling the sounds of their skirmish.

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><p>"10 Sickles for a pound of dragon liver! This is ridiculous!" a matronly woman snapped as she readjusted the toddler on her hip. "I remember when they were 2 Sickles and 5 Knuts a pound."<p>

A young boy who had just turned eleven today, July the 31st, paused in his walk to stare at the meat the woman was holding. It looked like ordinary meat; maybe a slab of beef his Aunt Petunia sometimes brought home from the local butcher shop. But it wasn't cow meat or pig or even lamb. It was dragon meat. Dragons were real! Maybe he shouldn't find that so amazing, after all today he had learned that _magic_ was real. Witches and wizards really wore pointed hats and waved wands. They rode on broomsticks! The raven haired boy stared at a display that other kids gathered around.

"The Nimbus 2000!"

"It's the fastest yet!" One excited little boy cried out!

"Keep up, Harry! We've got a lot of shoppin' to do," Rubeus Hagrid, the Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts called over his shoulder. Harry jogged to catch up to the giant man and followed him into large white marble building. It was by far the nicest building in Diagon Alley but Harry was more taken by the beings behind the teller's desks. Instead of people as he had expected, there were smaller creatures with large pointed ears, green wrinkled skin, and sharp teeth. "Goblins, Harry. Yeh don' wan' a get on the bad side of 'em." Harry's emerald eyes stayed on the nearest goblin as its long, clawed fingers held a ruby the size of a large rock to a magnifying glass. "Don' stare."

Harry averted his gaze quickly and instead focused on the other human clientele in the bank. One held a newspaper in his hands. Harry's eyes attention was caught as the pictures on the newspaper moved and a little black and white man with a solemn face dabbed at his eye with a handkerchief. He couldn't read the headline over the picture but he could just make out the caption. "Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge attends the 10th Anniversary Memorial of the Disappearance with wife Mary."

"Next!" Hagrid and Harry walked over to the counter and Harry tuned out the conversation in favor of observing his surroundings. At another counter he could see a family of platinum blondes. The father, standing tall and proud, reminded Harry vaguely of the Minister he'd seen on the TV before. His wife, though, resembled Harry's Aunt Petunia with the way she kept herself aloof with her nose raised just slightly. He turned away from them when their son caught his eye. Harry could almost feel the weight of the boy's judgment when it was finally made. He was found lacking.

Minutes later, Harry's embarrassment was forgotten as a cart went barreling into the depths of the Earth. Harry whooped and threw his arms into the air as the cart dove and swooped ever downwards. Hagrid's groan alerted Harry to the fact that his new friend wasn't doing so well. "Can we go slower?" Harry asked the goblin giving Hagrid a sympathetic pat on his arm.

"One speed only." As if to prove the goblin's point the cart made a sharp turn on two wheels.

"Oh…" Harry's momentary disappointment abated as the cart dove again. The young boy could swear that the goblin gave a particularly toothy grin before sneering at the giant man who was swiftly turning from pale to green. "Don't worry, Hagrid. It'll be over soon."

The cart came to an abrupt halt a moment later in front of Harry's vault. The goblin, Griphook, took the proffered key and opened the door. Green fog filtered out the door before dissipating to reveal mountains of gleaming gold. "Wow… Is this all mine?"

"Aye," Hagrid answered. "Take some of each. The gold ones are Galleons, the silver ones are Sickles, and the little bronze ones are Knuts. Ye'll be needin' enough tah do all yer shoppin.'" Harry stepped into the vault and followed the instructions. He could imagine the greedy look on Uncle Vernon's face if he knew Harry had a treasure buried beneath London. Harry resolved not to mention it to the Dursleys, ever.

The three magical beings climbed back into the cart and it hurtled ever downwards until it reached the next stop. "Stand back." This time the goblin opened it by stroking the door. "It only works with a goblin, if a wizard tries to open it he'd get trapped inside. We check the vault every ten years or so." Harry gulped at the blood-thirsty grin and focused on the contents of the vault instead. Or rather, the content as the only object in the room was a single package wrapped in brown wrapping paper.

Hagrid took it and placed it into his coat pocket. "Best not mention this to anyone, Harry," he said patting his coat and then stepping out of the vault. They missed the goblin rolling his eyes and stepped into the cart again. Griphook muttered underneath his breath in another language and once he was settled, the cart took off again. If Harry thought that the cart would be slower on the way up than it was going down, he was wrong. God, he loved magic!

When the pair finally stepped out into the sunlight, Harry could see just how green the giant man was. They walked away from Gringotts and headed towards the first shop, Madame Malkins' Robes for All Occasions. "Would ye be alrigh' if I wen' tah get sommat to settle me stomach?" Hagrid asked Harry a moment later.

"Sure, alright." Hagrid waited until Harry was safely ensconced in the store before hurrying down the Alley.

"Hogwarts, dear?" a woman asked as she peeked around a screen to the left of the shop. Harry nodded. "Good, come, come. I'm just fitting another young man over here. If you hop on this stool over here, we can get started."

Harry did as instructed and startled when a yellow tape-measure began taking his measurements. Harry glanced at the boy on the other stool who had fabric pooled at his feet to check if he had noticed his reaction. If the blonde boy did, he made no comment. A moment later Harry realized he recognized this boy from the bank. "Hogwarts too?" the boy asked. Harry nodded. "Do you know what House you'll be sorted into yet?"

"No," Harry answered.

"Well, no one really knows for sure. But my family's been in Slytherin for generations. I will be too." The boy missed the wrinkling of Madame Malkin's nose as he said this but Harry didn't. He wondered briefly why Slytherin would get this response but his musings were cut short by yet another question. "Did your parents come with you?"

"No, they're dead."

"Oh…sorry to hear that." There was an awkward silence. "They were our sort, weren't they?"

"If you mean if they were magical, yes."

"That's good. Father says that others shouldn't be allowed near our sort. I agree, of course. Don't you?" Harry opened his mouth to respond when Madame Malkin announced that she was done. The blonde hopped down from the stool after the seamstress finished pulling the fabric over his head. "I'll see you at Hogwarts, then." The two went to the main part of the shop, money was exchanged and the bell tinkled as the blonde stepped out of the shop with his purchases.

The rest of the fitting and purchase was quick and uneventful though Harry heard Madame Malkin muttering about bigots and corruption of youth more than once. Overall Harry was glad to be out of the place when he was done fifteen minutes later. Hagrid was waiting for him outside and together they made short work of his shopping before they took a lunch break at The Leaky Cauldron. Thinking back to his initial entrance into the pub made him bring up a question that he had not had the chance to ask yet. "Hagrid, why does everyone know my name?"

A confusing and vague reply later left Harry reeling. A dark wizard who went by the name of Lord Voldemort, or more commonly You-Know-Who, broke into his home, killed his parents, tried to kill him, and failed. Somehow it had rebounded on the caster and no one's seen him since. Because of this he was hailed as the Savior of the Wizarding World and known as the Boy-Who-Lived. It was all pretty far-fetched. Harry was inclined to think that he hadn't done anything at all and that the man had decided that being a Dark Lord was taxing work and faked his death. That made a lot more sense than saying a one year old defeated a man known as the most powerful Dark Lord in history.

Harry took a bite of his sandwich and allowed his eyes to wander the room. It finally stopped on a copy of the newspaper he'd seen earlier. Someone had left this _Daily Prophet_ face up on a table and Harry stood and walked to it slowly before coming back to the table he shared with Hagrid, the paper held in his hands. Finally he read the headline and then the rest of the article.

_10 Years Later, the United Kingdom Remembers the Children She Lost_

_On this day, ten years ago the last child in a string of kidnappings lasting more than five years was taken from her home in Griffin's Peak. One year old Hannah Dorea Potter, twin sister of the Boy-Who-Lived Harry James Potter, was put to sleep for the night but the next morning when the Potters went to wake their children, they discovered her empty crib. The only witness to the event was their then one year old son who was not yet able to speak. _

_Although, Hannah Potter was the last taken, she was by no means the first. The kidnappings started five years earlier and claimed no less than twenty six children. Parents all over the U.K. took precautions to protect their loved ones from harm. However, for many these safety measures took too long in coming and others proved insufficient to deter the kidnappers._

_After 10 years, many families and friends have accepted that the children are likely lost forever._

_"It's been 10 years," Muriel Prewett, guardian of the kidnapped Leonidas Prewett, told reporters at the Memorial. "If he is alive, there's no telling what he'll be like." His father, Gideon Prewett, a well-respected Auror died in the Death Eater attack in February of 1979 leaving Leonidas in the custody of his great-aunt. Three months later he was gone._

_Perhaps one of the most affected families of the kidnappings is the Malfoy family. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy lost their first-born child, a young girl they named Viscaria. Two of Lady Malfoy's nephews and her only niece were also abducted. Lord and Lady Malfoy have been one of the most active contributors to the search but have made no headway in the case. Neither were available for comment though they were present at the annual Memorial service which both the Minister of Magic and the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry attended as well._

_Spokeswizard Braxton Handle spoke at the Memorial. "Although we may never find the missing children, we will not stop searching for answers. Families are hurting and deserve closure. We at the Ministry of Magic will continue doing our best to ensure that they receive it."_

_At this time though, all we can do is remember the children who were taken from their homes and families._

_Castor Black (13yrs), Melina Black (11yrs), Liliana Blackwell (15yrs), Evangeline Bones (18yrs), Coraline Caradoc (12yrs), Matthias Carrow (17yrs), Louis Cattermole (15yrs), Nathaniel Devon (16yrs), Alexandra Dolohov (11yrs), Jeremiah Greengrass (18yrs), Rhea Lestrange (17yrs), Rigel Lestrange (17yrs), Losna Lovegood (13yrs), Viscaria Malfoy (14yrs), Adrian Moody (17yrs), Timothy Nott (12yrs), Ulric Ollivander (19yrs), Leonidas Prewett (14yrs), Hannah Potter (11yrs), Olivia Pucey (16yrs), Zephyr Quake (13yrs), Simon Rosier (16yrs), Matthew Smith (14yrs), Ana Trancy (16yrs), Corbin Urquart (16yrs), and Sadie Zabini (14yrs) _

_We remember you fondly._

_-Fredrick Thicknesse, Daily Prophet Reporter_

Harry gaped at the article before closing his mouth and shaking his head. It seemed like his family was struck by one tragedy after another culminating in their death. It also looked like the Wizarding World was without its fair share of trouble. He supposed there were some things that even magic couldn't fix. Later that night, as he lay in bed he thought about everything he'd learned that day. He thought, even though he'd only spent the day in Diagon Alley, that he understood the magical world. It was a place filled with people who could wield magic and it could be either good or bad. In other words, it was just like the one he was currently inhabiting but with _dragons_.


End file.
